Constitution Day unconstitutional?

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By MARGARET REIST / Lincoln Journal Star

A Lincoln Southeast High School honors class will mark the second Constitution Day today by handing in well-crafted arguments about why the federally-mandated day is  unconstitutional.

Then, those arguments will be sent to Nebraska’s U.S. senators and to West Virginia Sen. Robert Byrd.

Byrd gets a copy because he’s the senator who inserted the legislation into a massive spending bill to require every school that receives federal money to teach about the Constitution on Sept. 17, the day it was adopted (or as close to that day as a weekend will allow).

Nebraska senators get the letters so they, like Byrd, can see just how much students in Nebraska know about the Constitution, federal mandate or no federal mandate.

Especially those students who are taking a class that revolves around the document.

David Nebel, the teacher of the advanced placement government and politics class who thought up the assignment, acknowledges he is not fond of a law that mandates what teachers should teach.

He’s been teaching 13 years, he said, and for the first time ever last year — before the first Constitution Day — he had to turn in lesson plans to the district.

“They wanted to make sure we were complying,” he said.

The law also seems to imply teachers aren’t doing their job, an implication with which Nebel begs to differ.

“It’s not my intent to have Congress act on this and appeal the law,” he said. “But I think it’s important to read something written by high school students to see we’re doing a good job of educating them and we’ve got some smart kids here.”

Students don’t have to send the letters, but they do have to research the issue, basing their arguments either on the Constitution itself or on Supreme Court cases that weigh in on the issue.

And if they prefer to make an argument why the day is constitutional, that’s fine too.

In addition to helping students hone their persuasive writing skills, the assignment teaches students how to write a formal business letter, Nebel said.

That’s a good skill for the students to know, especially when many will soon be applying to colleges, he said.

Last year, Nebel gave students the same assignment and after  sending the letters, they heard back from both Nebraska senators but not Byrd.

Nelson’s letter complimented students on their persuasive writing skills.

Point made.

Reach Margaret Reist at 473-7226 or mreist@journalstar.com